On Friday 14th September 2012 Belles Bingo will be making a big come back at Gatehangers Inn, Ashendon.
To be part of this exciting night out all you need to do is bag your Bingo Cards, get a drink and find a seat by 7.30 pm for eyes down at 8pm prompt.
Andy Dale has been practicing his clickety clicks, has his 2 little ducks in a row and is polishing his key to the door in readiness for his best performance yet. (Really!)
Alex has been touting and scouting around for prizes and there is little doubt that, as always, there will be something for everyone to win.
So, please come along and support us and help us to raise some funds for Florence Nightingale Hospice.
It really doesn't matter if you can't play Bingo - come for the fun of a Belles night out!
See you there we hope.
It has been almost three years since the Belles set a challenge. We haven't stopped, we simply need to re-set and re-focus and find time to get ourselves back in the zone.
Monday, 3 September 2012
Monday, 27 August 2012
Sorry, no hand signals!
OK, before we get stuck into our weekend training adventure I’d better introduce you to Oli, the latest addition to The Pollicott Belles, who featured heavily in last weekends little experience.
Think Flower Power, Jimi Hendrix, Mamas and Papas, and you’ll be on the right lines - Oli is Sians Volkswagon camper van, in bright yellow in case you might miss it.
Oli was brought into play on what was (so far) the hottest day of the year, as Sian and I set off to Worminghall. The plan was to give Oli a good run out and to get us to the start of our first serious walk of the new fund raising campaign for Florence Nightingale Hospice – The Clifden Arms.
Given this was the start of the days training our visit to The Clifden Arms involved only soft drinks….very much out of keeping with The Belles, but work to be done.
After a quick study of the map we decided to head off in what we thought was the direction of the pathway we were after, but ‘oh dear’ – lost after just thirty seconds. Not to worry though we headed in the direction of a friendly face sat having a drink outside of the pub but, not to be, before we could reach him he was up on his feet and off into the pub.
Just as we thought we’d lost our only hope of a ‘point in the right direction’ there was the friendly face – in the open window almost next to us. ‘Hi’ said Sian, ‘we’re looking for the pathway on this map’ she said, kind of holding the map up as if that might help jog his memory. As he began to explain the best he could we realised this window leads into the gents toilet – Sian was busy holding a map in her hand as it quickly became apparent this gentleman was holding something in his – and it wasn’t a map!
‘Sorry, no hand signals’ came the friendly voice, clearly trying to help us feel at ease with the situation we had managed to get ourselves into, I may have felt a little more at ease but I’m sure my red face was radiating more heat than the hot sun.
Eventually we did get on our way and once clear of the window and out of sight of the kind man, well, it would have been wrong not to have almost fallen over with laughter. Sian and I agreed…today was going to be a good day.
The map shows the route far better than I can explain it but the basic plan was to head off to Waterperry (cake here, so huge incentive for us to make good time), then make a circuit of around 7 miles, and head back to Oli at Worminghall.
I have to conclude that walking seems to be every bit as hazardous as bike riding, perhaps because Sians warning of 'watch the rabbit hole' took on less urgency at walking speed than perhaps it might had I been riding a bike. Anyway, I failed to 'watch the rabbit hole' until my foot was well and truly stuck and I was left fighting to maintain some balance. Fortunately it was a case of 'no harm done' and I walked away unscathed but I did begin to wonder how I might have explained a broken ankle to the consultant treating my arm injury from last year - I assured him we'd be doing 'safe fundraising' this year, not a bike in sight, to turn up to his next consultation on a pair of crutches might have been awkward.
As we arrived back into Worminghall I really did begin to worry about Sian. Alongside the wall of a local church someone had very thoughtfully placed a bowl of water for anyone walking a dog, a very kind gesture on such a hot day. As Sian headed straight for it and began to stoop down I really did begin to question whether it was wise to have gone out on such a hot day - what I didn't see from the angle I was at was the fresh cold water tap on the wall above the bowl. A moment of some relief I can assure you.
Oli was a welcome sight and, after 3 hours in the hot sunshine, we sat back and enjoyed a short rest before setting off back to Pollicott. It had been a fun day....can't wait until the next one.
Love
Alex x
Think Flower Power, Jimi Hendrix, Mamas and Papas, and you’ll be on the right lines - Oli is Sians Volkswagon camper van, in bright yellow in case you might miss it.
Oli was brought into play on what was (so far) the hottest day of the year, as Sian and I set off to Worminghall. The plan was to give Oli a good run out and to get us to the start of our first serious walk of the new fund raising campaign for Florence Nightingale Hospice – The Clifden Arms.
Given this was the start of the days training our visit to The Clifden Arms involved only soft drinks….very much out of keeping with The Belles, but work to be done.
After a quick study of the map we decided to head off in what we thought was the direction of the pathway we were after, but ‘oh dear’ – lost after just thirty seconds. Not to worry though we headed in the direction of a friendly face sat having a drink outside of the pub but, not to be, before we could reach him he was up on his feet and off into the pub.
Just as we thought we’d lost our only hope of a ‘point in the right direction’ there was the friendly face – in the open window almost next to us. ‘Hi’ said Sian, ‘we’re looking for the pathway on this map’ she said, kind of holding the map up as if that might help jog his memory. As he began to explain the best he could we realised this window leads into the gents toilet – Sian was busy holding a map in her hand as it quickly became apparent this gentleman was holding something in his – and it wasn’t a map!
‘Sorry, no hand signals’ came the friendly voice, clearly trying to help us feel at ease with the situation we had managed to get ourselves into, I may have felt a little more at ease but I’m sure my red face was radiating more heat than the hot sun.
Eventually we did get on our way and once clear of the window and out of sight of the kind man, well, it would have been wrong not to have almost fallen over with laughter. Sian and I agreed…today was going to be a good day.
The map shows the route far better than I can explain it but the basic plan was to head off to Waterperry (cake here, so huge incentive for us to make good time), then make a circuit of around 7 miles, and head back to Oli at Worminghall.
I have to conclude that walking seems to be every bit as hazardous as bike riding, perhaps because Sians warning of 'watch the rabbit hole' took on less urgency at walking speed than perhaps it might had I been riding a bike. Anyway, I failed to 'watch the rabbit hole' until my foot was well and truly stuck and I was left fighting to maintain some balance. Fortunately it was a case of 'no harm done' and I walked away unscathed but I did begin to wonder how I might have explained a broken ankle to the consultant treating my arm injury from last year - I assured him we'd be doing 'safe fundraising' this year, not a bike in sight, to turn up to his next consultation on a pair of crutches might have been awkward.
As we arrived back into Worminghall I really did begin to worry about Sian. Alongside the wall of a local church someone had very thoughtfully placed a bowl of water for anyone walking a dog, a very kind gesture on such a hot day. As Sian headed straight for it and began to stoop down I really did begin to question whether it was wise to have gone out on such a hot day - what I didn't see from the angle I was at was the fresh cold water tap on the wall above the bowl. A moment of some relief I can assure you.
Oli was a welcome sight and, after 3 hours in the hot sunshine, we sat back and enjoyed a short rest before setting off back to Pollicott. It had been a fun day....can't wait until the next one.
Love
Alex x
Monday, 13 August 2012
Planning our Route
Our original plan was to walk from East Ilsley to Thame and Thame to Pollicott to follow the routes of our Pollicott & Ashendon forbears. This route, however, had a few too many issues (not least that we couldn't find really strong evidence of what that route was and also that a significant chunk of it is on The Ridgeway/Icknield Way and we have already cycled that). So, along with our charity shift, we have trampled all over our plans and decided to follow a known Drover's Road from Faringdon to Oxford and then from Oxford to Brill.
Finding the route is still no easy matter. From Faringdon we have a rough idea of the route to Abingdon which the following images help to illustrate. We will be carefully re-tracing this route on our OS maps over the next few days. We believe this may have been known as Southampton Street or Gloucester Street and that it came across from Monmouth.
Our final push we know will be an approach to Brill from Little London (see our previous blog) but the bit in between Abingdon and Little London is still more than blurry.
There are a few enthusiasts around whom we hope to track down to pick their brains. Bruce Smith of Syresham if you read this please drop us a note. Bruce is on the WI speaker circuit so any friends with access to WI speaker lists please help us to find an email for him. We have also been given a local contact near Brill who we hope will be able to help us piece together our journey. Any other contacts or suggestions will be gratefully received.
Please watch out for more news of our route plan and of our fundraising efforts over the coming month. For anyone who would just like to make an online donation to Florence Nightingale Hospice, we now have a justgiving page set up: http://www.justgiving.com/pollicottbelles2
Our walk begins in less than 7 weeks!
Monday, 6 August 2012
It's a Ladies Perogative
After much soul searching, Alex and I (Sian) took a decision to change our chosen charity this year and we are now going to be walking to raise funds for a local charity - Florence Nightingale Hospice, Stoke Mandeville.
We were both lacking a inspiration for the charity we had originally chosen to support this year and, to add to that, we were not getting any motivation from them. This lack of oomph was affecting our psyche and we were struggling to get excited about this year's challenge and the fundraising to go with it. So, it's a late change but we have personal connection with the charity we have now chosen to complete our challenge for.
Florence Nightingale Hospice has been there for our friends in Ashendon and in our hearts we very much want to support this wonderful charity.
We have set a date for our walk - Friday to Sunday 28-30th September and are planning a fun, fundraiser for just before we leave. Watch this space.
Please support us any way you can.
We were both lacking a inspiration for the charity we had originally chosen to support this year and, to add to that, we were not getting any motivation from them. This lack of oomph was affecting our psyche and we were struggling to get excited about this year's challenge and the fundraising to go with it. So, it's a late change but we have personal connection with the charity we have now chosen to complete our challenge for.
Florence Nightingale Hospice has been there for our friends in Ashendon and in our hearts we very much want to support this wonderful charity.
We have set a date for our walk - Friday to Sunday 28-30th September and are planning a fun, fundraiser for just before we leave. Watch this space.
Please support us any way you can.
Monday, 9 April 2012
Talking About Our Adventures
When the Ashendon WI asked us last year if us 'Belles' would be willing to do a talk about our adventures at one of their monthly meetings we couldn't refuse, so in the new year when the flyer came throught the door for the Ashendon WI schedule for the year and there we were in print for March's meeting there was no getting out of it!!
Sian is definately the most confident of speakers in us 'Belles' as she does this regularly as part of running her business, but to Alex and myself it is a daunting task to stand up in front of a hall full of WI members.
March came up quicker than ever and soon we were days away with no real speech prepared, however a hasty meeting in my kitchen two afternoons before our 'date' we bashed through a rough schedule and some great photos soon got our memories jogged and with some new found confidence we felt prepared enough to face the ladies of Ashendon!
Despite a slight village hall lighting problem we set up our projector and laptop and as the ladies came pilling in through the door and took their seats my new found confidence was already starting to slip, but with Sian getting the talk off to a very slick start I found enough confidence to deliver our account of the South Downs Way experiences. We seemed to be recieved well and we even got to partake in a nice cup of tea and a piece of cake, well Alex and I did, unfortunately Sian missed out on that bit as she had to rush off to play in a netball match!
So we can now add public speaking to our list of talents, although I for one actually prefer cycling to speaking!!
Sian is definately the most confident of speakers in us 'Belles' as she does this regularly as part of running her business, but to Alex and myself it is a daunting task to stand up in front of a hall full of WI members.
March came up quicker than ever and soon we were days away with no real speech prepared, however a hasty meeting in my kitchen two afternoons before our 'date' we bashed through a rough schedule and some great photos soon got our memories jogged and with some new found confidence we felt prepared enough to face the ladies of Ashendon!
Despite a slight village hall lighting problem we set up our projector and laptop and as the ladies came pilling in through the door and took their seats my new found confidence was already starting to slip, but with Sian getting the talk off to a very slick start I found enough confidence to deliver our account of the South Downs Way experiences. We seemed to be recieved well and we even got to partake in a nice cup of tea and a piece of cake, well Alex and I did, unfortunately Sian missed out on that bit as she had to rush off to play in a netball match!
So we can now add public speaking to our list of talents, although I for one actually prefer cycling to speaking!!
Saturday, 3 March 2012
A Towering Success
Well that’s what it said on the tin…the map actually but you get the joke? The map was supplied by Sian and our walk was titled ‘A Towering Success’ – and so it turned out to be.
With our Vicky out for the count with an ear infection and well under the weather, Joe scheduled to make a choir session in Bloxham, Sian and I opted to take full advantage of a beautiful spring day (in February!!) and try out the walk from Hook Norton.
Firstly it might be worth mentioning that around this time last year all of us came to grief on the icy roads – this year Sian and I are walking out across the open countryside in ‘T’ shirts – none of this yellow ‘high viz’ stuff this time.
The walk itself was truly amazing, I love walking and I know Sian does too and even in far more dubious weather a good walk can lift your mood for the day…but in such glorious sunshine and peaceful surroundings it can be a real lift.
Did I say “peaceful?” - just as Sian and I were settling down to a decent bit of Belles Banter the girl leaps into life as if a tiger had jumped out from the hedgerow. Somewhat startled I swung round to see what the problem was only to be surrounded by about 6 or 7 cyclists out for a Sunday ride. I ask you, who goes out cycling these days…last years news for us Belles. But they were fit young chaps so we’ll cut them some slack.
As with all Belles training days there was tea and cakes lined up at the end, this time in the The Joiners Arms. Sian had given up both cake and biscuits for ‘Lent’ so the delicious biscuit that arrived with our coffee was little more than temptation to Sian so I did the dutiful thing and ate it for her. What a friend! When the teacakes arrived I did suggest these may also fall outside of permitted foods but Sian was having none of it this time – I didn’t hear her reply as she was too busy eating. Apparently teacakes don’t count.
Joe eventually caught up with us and we set off back in the car towards Pollicott, via Lidl in Bicester. What a bizarre mix of merchandise…never before can I recall strolling the centre isle of a supermarket with jam and marmalade on one side and metric socket sets and motor cycle accessories on the other.
Eventually we arrived back at Pollicott to continue with our Sunday, more tea and cake for Annalises birthday.
Our first stressful training session over…not!
Love
Alex xxx
With our Vicky out for the count with an ear infection and well under the weather, Joe scheduled to make a choir session in Bloxham, Sian and I opted to take full advantage of a beautiful spring day (in February!!) and try out the walk from Hook Norton.
Firstly it might be worth mentioning that around this time last year all of us came to grief on the icy roads – this year Sian and I are walking out across the open countryside in ‘T’ shirts – none of this yellow ‘high viz’ stuff this time.
The walk itself was truly amazing, I love walking and I know Sian does too and even in far more dubious weather a good walk can lift your mood for the day…but in such glorious sunshine and peaceful surroundings it can be a real lift.
Did I say “peaceful?” - just as Sian and I were settling down to a decent bit of Belles Banter the girl leaps into life as if a tiger had jumped out from the hedgerow. Somewhat startled I swung round to see what the problem was only to be surrounded by about 6 or 7 cyclists out for a Sunday ride. I ask you, who goes out cycling these days…last years news for us Belles. But they were fit young chaps so we’ll cut them some slack.
As with all Belles training days there was tea and cakes lined up at the end, this time in the The Joiners Arms. Sian had given up both cake and biscuits for ‘Lent’ so the delicious biscuit that arrived with our coffee was little more than temptation to Sian so I did the dutiful thing and ate it for her. What a friend! When the teacakes arrived I did suggest these may also fall outside of permitted foods but Sian was having none of it this time – I didn’t hear her reply as she was too busy eating. Apparently teacakes don’t count.
Joe eventually caught up with us and we set off back in the car towards Pollicott, via Lidl in Bicester. What a bizarre mix of merchandise…never before can I recall strolling the centre isle of a supermarket with jam and marmalade on one side and metric socket sets and motor cycle accessories on the other.
Eventually we arrived back at Pollicott to continue with our Sunday, more tea and cake for Annalises birthday.
Our first stressful training session over…not!
Love
Alex xxx
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
The Beeb inspires The Belles
Our research had a little boost from Countryfile this week - see we Belles start and others will follow! Adam went to Wales to herd a flock of sheep along an ancient droving route, ending in the hamlet of Rhewl. The network of tracks and roads that criss-cross our
countryside are still evident today - so, all we have to do is find our route. The programme did share a couple of tips on spotting Drover's routes:
We plan to start out from East Ilsley which by 1240 had an already substantial corn-market and by the Middle Ages a major sheep fair, attracting drovers bringing their stock along the Ridgeway. (We know it well!).
A book The Drovers by Shirley Toulson provides more detail that seems to confirm that the first section of our walk will follow part of the Ridgeway in the direction of Wallingford.
Place names provide useful indications of the possible existence of drover's routes. For example Halfpenny relates to the fee drovers paid for grazing. Anything with Drovers in is a good clue (Drovers Arms and so on) and a place with London in its name is also a good indication that it was on a Drover's route and a significant place for the travelling community.
It's not on our route but it seems Little London (at Oakley just down the road from Brill) may have been established by Welsh cattle drovers. Cattle drovers established at least 70 communities in England and Wales, many of which still exist. They were on common land, separated from local communities and were temporary homes for long-distance drovers, driving their cattle to the great fairs and markets of London and other centres in England.
Then something exciting popped up when I googled Drover's Buckinghamshire. I found a map that shows Thame on a Drover's road that runs to Witney a bit far from East Ilsley but there may be a link across.
All in all a good start - we have a beginning and we know there is a route through Thame.
To finish, we share a totally unrelated fact uncovered by searching for 'Ridgeway' and 'Drovers' turned up this fact on google: "Ridgeway Rovers were formed in 1979 and is famous for being the first club David Beckham played for." Hmm I feel a quiz fundraiser event coming on!!
- Often high banks ran alongside the route to keep out strays from neighbouring land
- Lush fields next to old inns indicate grazing used by drovers
We plan to start out from East Ilsley which by 1240 had an already substantial corn-market and by the Middle Ages a major sheep fair, attracting drovers bringing their stock along the Ridgeway. (We know it well!).
A book The Drovers by Shirley Toulson provides more detail that seems to confirm that the first section of our walk will follow part of the Ridgeway in the direction of Wallingford.
Place names provide useful indications of the possible existence of drover's routes. For example Halfpenny relates to the fee drovers paid for grazing. Anything with Drovers in is a good clue (Drovers Arms and so on) and a place with London in its name is also a good indication that it was on a Drover's route and a significant place for the travelling community.
It's not on our route but it seems Little London (at Oakley just down the road from Brill) may have been established by Welsh cattle drovers. Cattle drovers established at least 70 communities in England and Wales, many of which still exist. They were on common land, separated from local communities and were temporary homes for long-distance drovers, driving their cattle to the great fairs and markets of London and other centres in England.
Then something exciting popped up when I googled Drover's Buckinghamshire. I found a map that shows Thame on a Drover's road that runs to Witney a bit far from East Ilsley but there may be a link across.
To finish, we share a totally unrelated fact uncovered by searching for 'Ridgeway' and 'Drovers' turned up this fact on google: "Ridgeway Rovers were formed in 1979 and is famous for being the first club David Beckham played for." Hmm I feel a quiz fundraiser event coming on!!
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